September 14, 2016 Issue

The more than month-long search for Kaleb Osbourn is over. Law enforcement officials arrested the 32-year-old man this morning after searching for him in the area for more than a month. Llano Police Chief Kevin Ratliff said Osbourn was spotted by Tim Harden, Llano VFD assistant fire chief, this morning behind Chicken Express on Hwy.

LAGO VISTA — It’s homecoming, and the boy is coming home. He’s no longer a boy, and he won’t be wearing orange and black, but he will compete at Llano Stadium for the first time in 19 years. Bradley Kassell is a man who truly needs no introduction if you were here in 1997, when this All-West Texas MVP at quarterback (and highly applauded) safety led the Jackets to their last district championship and an 11-1 record. “It’ll be interesting to be on the other side,” Kassell told me r ...

Alligator, Axis, Aoudad, Elk and more, and oh yeah, Cooper’s BBQ, it was all on the menu at the 7th Annual Llano Wild Game Dinner at the John L Kuykendall Event Center on Saturday night. The crowd, one of the largest seen at the JLK Event Center, was there for one reason - to support the youth of Llano County 4-H and FFA programs.

Dorothy Keith and Brenda Weaver of Llano Cowboy Church, along with the Master Gardeners, spent Thursday sprucing up the courtyard at the Llano Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Also pictured are Patsy Garcia, Naomi Adams and Roxanne Cordell.

Llano residents are likely to see a slight bump in property taxes in the coming year. The city council voted 4-1 in a first reading at its Sept. 6 meeting to increase the tax rate about 5 percent, from 0.39633 to 0.416. Finance director Lynda Kuder said the increase will mean the average homestead will see an increase of about $14 in taxes in the next fiscal year. The council originally set the proposed tax rate at 0.43 in August.

Local Texas Hill Country cities continued to post strong sales tax figures during the summer compared to statewide totals. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced last week that he will send cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose taxing districts $629.2 million in local sales tax allocations for September, 1.4 percent less than in September 2015.

Llano has a special event each month that is the envy of many towns our size. The Llano Country Opry is held the second Saturday of each month at the Lantex Theater. There are entertainers that have spent decades performing for audiences, some that began their careers as early as the 1960s.

Nobody seems to know when the custom started, but the homecoming week tradition of giving and wearing the complicated, ornate and colorful arrangement known simply as “mums” is alive and well in Llano. You’ll likely see them around town this week during homecoming, but especially on Friday night at the homecoming football game against Lago Vista. Orders started pouring in to Hometown Floral in Llano a full two weeks before homecoming, said owner Lorilea Wenzel.

Llano County has a new library director. Jackie Cundieff was hired to replace the retiring Dian Ray by a 3-1 vote at Monday’s commissioners court meeting. Precinct 4 Commissioner Jerry Don Moss cast the lone dissenting vote, while Precinct 3 Commissioner Ron Wilson was sick and not at the meeting. A committee made up of County Judge Mary Cunningham, Precinct 1 Commissioner Peter Jones and former library board member Pam Fowler interviewed candidates for the position and made the recommendatio ...

Students at Llano Elementary School were faced with tragic news over the weekend as a language arts teacher at the school was killed in a traffic accident.  Jenica Barnard, 22, died shortly before 6 p.m. Friday in a collision on U.S. Hwy. 87 north of Fredericksburg. She attempted to pass another vehicle at the crest of a hill when she collided head-on with a tractor trailer, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Barnard started her first year of teaching just a few short week ...

The Llano Youth Football and Cheer teams hosted the Brady Bulldogs this past Saturday at Jacket Stadium. Both teams played great football on the day and came out victorious as the Jacket JV won 14-6 while the Llano Varsity spanked the Bulldogs 40-0. The victories keep both Jacket teams tied for first place in the Hill Country Youth Football League standings for their respective divisions as the JV is tied with the undefeated Mason Punchers while the Varsity is tied with the undefeated Blanco Pa ...

Somewhere former longtime Llano Jr. High School football coach James Saucier probably has a big smile on his face as the Llano Junior High Daubers started out their seasons with a bang as the seventh and eighth grade teams each recorded shutout victories over the rival Brady Bulldogs. Both the Dauber seventh and eighth grade teams played with combined A and B teams with the seventh grade scoring early and often in a 34-0 victory while the eighth graders protected the home turf of Jacket Stadium ...

The Llano Junior Varsity traveled to Brady to take on the Bulldogs this past Thursday evening. Llano played with a combined freshman and JV team as Brady did not field enough players to have a Freshman team. The Jackets jumped out to the early lead over the Bulldogs and coasted to the 34-14 victory.

You’ll see, or have seen nearby, the Jackets did not beat Brady, but they produced one of the most bizarre (partial) scores in the history of football. Yes, back to when Amos Alonzo Stagg was called A-A by his buddies; when something preceded leather helmets; when there was no: forward pass, instant replay, TV timeouts, TV, and Howdy Doody. Are you ready?

I’ll be honest, okay? I didn’t want to write about anything else concerning Brady’s 21-7 win at Llano, September 9, other than the sidebar story I urge you to read. My boss was quite tactful. He said, “Fine. Don’t. And, as you put it, you won’t be writing ‘anything else’ in this paper.” Well, since that’s clear, honor before security — but not today.

It’s “Pay it Backward” for Faith Manning. The Lady Jackets return to this floor for a match Homecoming Afternoon against Lampasas. Llano lost its district opener at Salado, 3-1

MASON — High temperature and high times — no strangers to each other — played significant supporting roles in the cross country meet, September 7, but Llano still left with medals and high -- there’s that adjective again — high places in the school’s second contest of the year. “All of our teams did well,” said head coach Lauren Timms. Boys’ Town Andy Wright was the Jackets’ fastest finisher.

The LHS Hall of Fame, born in 2002, invites 11 more Jackets to join this exclusive club. Let’s call ‘em up to the dais and journalistically get to know this outstanding group. Coni Virdell Milliorn Like father — and like daughter. That’s Coni, Class of 1969, and one of the most well-liked human beings anywhere.  Before becoming a teacher for close to three decades, she was an All-District basketball player at Llano High; also, she was ...

LAGO VISTA — It’s homecoming, and the boy is coming home. He’s no longer a boy, and he won’t be wearing orange and black, but he will compete at Llano Stadium for the first time in 19 years. Bradley Kassell is a man who truly needs no introduction if you were here in 1997, when this All-West Texas MVP at quarterback (and highly applauded) safety led the Jackets to their last district championship and an 11-1 record. “It’ll be interesting to be on the other side,” Kassell told me r ...

Ruth Jean Peace Rider of Llano, Texas passed away on Sept. 12, 2016 in Marble Falls, at the age of 80. Ruth was proud to be born the daughter of Clarence and Ethel (McKiddy) Peace, in the Appalachian Mountains of southeastern Kentucky; her family later moved to Covington, Ky. At the age of 21, she married Jerry Rider, and the couple went on to have two daughters, Linda Peacerider, and Patricia Rider Perkins.

God graced this world with Slayton Scott Seward on Nov. 14, 1988 in Fredericksburg. His Lord and Savior welcomed him home on Sept. 8, 2016 from Copperas Cove. Slayton lived the first 12 years of his life in Llano before moving to Copperas Cove in 2001. Slayton was known to all who loved him for his intelligence and his passion for politics.

Dear Editor, I attended the Gillespie County CTEC District meeting on June 16, 2016 and was disappointed by the lack of response from CEO Bob Loth to issues raised by a candidate for the board. Heinrich Boenig called for more accountability and transparency in the Co-op. He stated that public corporations and some Coops (unlike our Coop) publish in their annual report the salaries of their senior executives and board directors. He asked for open board meetings.

Dear Editor, Regarding last week’s article (submitted) by Llano County Agent Mr. Jamie Osbourn, “U.S. Beef Exports Continue to Climb,” this is not a blast at our county agent, he knows there is more to the cattle story than what (was) covered in the article. Beef exports has been a hot button topic for me, while touted as the saving grace by the national cattle association.